Sunday trading back on the cards despite strong opposition

Plans to liberalise Sunday trading laws are back on the cards although the government is yet to publish the results of a public consultation.

The measures will be slipped in as part of the Enterprise Bill announced today by business secretary Sajid Javid. This is the second time the government has suggested extending Sunday trading after it was dropped in November following stiff opposition from MPs of all parties.

Under current legislation, large shops are only allowed to open for six hours on a Sunday. However George Osborne unveiled plans in his Budget to allow local councils to decide the Sunday trading laws for themselves. This would give councils the power to change the regulations to permit large shops to open all day on Sunday.

However the proposals were dropped last year following strong opposition from the Church of England and Christian lobby groups. Up to 20 Tories, led by Christian MP David Burrowes, announced they would rebel if there was a vote which, plus opposition from Labour and SNP MPs, would have meant an embarrassing defeat for the government with its slender majority.

Now the proposals have returned with the department for business insisting "devolving Sunday trading powers to local authorities in England and Wales could benefit British businesses."

"These new powers are about giving local areas the choice to extend Sunday trading hours to meet the needs of their local businesses and communities," Javid said today. "It is local people who will make the decision."

However shadow business secretary Angela Eagle said the attempt to bring the measure through at such a late stage in the Enterprise Bill was a "gross abuse of power".

In an attempt to allay concerns raised about shop workers welfare, the business department announced they would have a new right to opt-out of working additional hours. Furthermore "workers will now be able to give just one month's notice to large shops that they no longer want to work Sundays, down from the previous three months", a statement read.

However Bishop of St Albans, Rt Rev Alan Smith, said in a statement sent to Christian Today the changes would still "have a negative effect on community and family life" and would not bring "any tangible economic benefit".

"We know that over half of shop workers in large stores already feel pressure to work on Sundays, and an increase in opening hours will only lead to more people being pressured into spending Sunday apart from their children and families," he said.

"This can only be damaging to community and family life and erode opportunities for shared time and activity, which is central to human flourishing and the common good."

The Keep Sunday Special campaign also voiced their opposition to the changes, suggesting the effect of devolving Sunday trading regulations would force alll councils to liberalise the laws. 

Nola Leach, CEO of Christian policy charity CARE who have campaigned against the changes said the government was "putting economic gain over family stability".

"These proposals fail the Prime Minister's family test because they will clearly have a negative impact on family life, reducing time off in common and requiring longer hours for many retail workers," she said.

Leach also questioned why the results of a public consultation on Sunday trading had not been published.

However Christian Today understands the 20 MPs who voiced concerns when the proposals were first aired are still opposed to any extension of Sunday trading. If they maintain their opposition it is unlikely the measures will pass.